Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award
Saturday, Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m.

The grandson of Greek immigrants, Alexander Payne grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was educated by Jesuits. He went on to study history and Spanish literature at Stanford University before earning an M.F.A. in film directing at UCLA.

His first two feature films were the comedies “Citizen Ruth” (1996) and “Election” (1999). “About Schmidt” premiered in the competition at Cannes Film Festival in 2012. Both “Sideways” (2004) and “The Descendants” (2011) won Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and were nominated for four other Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Four of his six films were filmed in Nebraska.